Requiem: A Novel

Chapter One
Stardate: 47821.2
Earth Calendar Date: 2370

Captain Picard stopped outside the door and tapped his communicator. "Number One, I'm outside, may I join you?"

"Certainly, sir," came the response.

Taking another step, Picard waited for the holodeck door to open. A moment later, he was looking out at a rocky ledge. His first officer was sitting at the brink of it, looking down into the bone-dry valley below. The place was hot, the air thin. And somehow, it looked familiar.

Of course, thought Picard, realizing the reason for its familiarity. I'm not the only one who has been studying history.

"Research, Number One?"

"More like a review, Captain," replied Riker. As the captain entered the scenario, the younger man turned his attention to what was going on farther along the ledge. From the intense look on Riker's face, it was obvious that he was deep in concentration. Then, abruptly, he shook his head.

"Freeze program," he said, getting up to stretch his legs. Joining him, Picard saw what his first officer had been studying.

A Starfleet officer was leaning over the cliff. Barechested, the man was in the middle of waving his tunic to something down below.

The captain peered down over the side of the cliff. At least 150 meters below, a Gorn stood looking up at the bare-chested officer.

Abruptly, Picard realized that something was wrong with this scene: Captain Kirk had never baited the Gorn in quite this way, at least not in the official Starfleet records. Then it came to him that the uniform the frozen officer was waving was not Kirk's command gold -- but Starfleet Academy's maroon. And on closer examination, Picard saw that the mysterious officer was clearly William Riker as a first-year cadet.

He grunted. "That first encounter with the Gorn was still a simulation in your Academy days, Number One?"

"It still is, as far as I know, sir." Riker shook his head. "This was not one of my finer moments. I was trying to lead the Gorn to a crude trip wire."

"Did the trap work?"

The first officer grinned. "Perfectly. Of course, it didn't stop him for a moment."

Picard smiled in return. "I had my share of troubles with this simulation as well." He took a moment to scan the holodeck scene. The captain had been reviewing the official records on the monitor in his quarters, though he decided now that it might be worthwhile to run the sequence in the holodeck after all. He would almost certainly have time before they reached Gorn space.

"Number One," he said, "would you accompany me to my ready room? I would like to begin preparations for the summit meeting while we have plenty of time. I prefer not to leave anything to chance."

"Of course, sir." Riker turned back to the scene for a moment. "Computer, end program."

Without a sound, the planetscape around them vanished, leaving the two men standing in the empty holodeck.

Picard led the way into the corridor. "I've been doing some review of my own, Will. Captain Kirk's encounter has always fascinated me."

Riker sighed. "I always had trouble with the Metrons' editing. If they'd let us watch just a few more minutes, it would have saved us all a lot of trouble at the Academy."

The captain shrugged. "Perhaps... though we did see a great deal. Kirk's situation came down to a choice and a set of consequences. Anything could happen -- he could live, or die. His ship and crew would be won or lost. The moment we see is uncertain, yet full of possibilities -- including the one possibility that Captain Kirk saw but we do not."